Thieves Just Looted $23,000 Worth Of Dutch Cheese. Here's Why
While the Hamburglar might be sneaking around the Golden Arches waiting to get his hands on that Big Mac, other food thieves are looking for a bigger bounty. At the same time, no one wants to get caught with their hands stuck between two stolen buns. But, if the evidence could just melt away, then a food caper might be the perfect edible crime.
According to the Mirror, a group of brazen Russian thieves recently stole $23,000 of Dutch cheese from a dairy farm in the Netherlands. While the farm was shocked by the pillaging, the speculation as to why it was specifically targeted seems apparent. With the current economic sanctions against Russia, grifted gouda follows a trend of high-end Western food products being stolen and sold on the black market. As Food & Wine states, the entire round of stolen gouda couldn't be resold in Netherlands due the required registration code stamped into the rind, which shows where the cheese came from. That legal measure was instituted to stop, well, this exact type of thing from happening. Still, if a group of thieves were willing to clear the shelves of this cherished cheese, the lack of a rind may not stop them from re-selling slices in other countries. Even though the Netherlands might be one of the largest exporters of cheese, this special shipment is one that should be returned to sender.
What food is most stolen often?
While Robin Leach might have told tales of champagne wishes and caviar dreams, the world of over-the-top culinary price tags continues to grow. From the world's most expensive burgers to gold-encrusted steaks, such extravagant and luxurious fare tends to be more of a status symbol than the most flavorful item on your plate. So why steal simple rounds of cheese?
According to the Centre for Retail Research, cheese, meat, and liquor rank high with thieves. Per Esquire, there's even an acronym — "CRAVED," or "Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable, and Disposable" — to describe how appealing cheese is for those with sticky fingers. While many crime dramas look for that smoking gun evidence to be revealed in the climax, with cheese, the evidence tends to disappear. After all, cheese cravings are powerful for a reason. Over the years, numerous cheese heists have wiped the shelves of hundreds of thousands of dollars of cheddar. Given that 4% of the world's cheese is stolen, that cheese plate might have a greater tale to tell beyond the rind. Although every recipe has a story, stolen gouda might not be the one that everyone was expecting.